Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Display Dock review

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: 30-second review

Typically, Thunderbolt 4 docks are more expensive than TB3 or USB-C docks. However, the first thing most potential customers for the Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Display Dock will notice is that this device isn't expensive, being one of the cheapest around.

However, the relatively low price hasn't heavily impacted the quality of the dock, with an entirely metal exterior and thirteen ports in all.

It also sports a power button, not a given on docks, and it comes with a chunky power supply that, through the dock, can deliver 96W of charging power to a connected laptop.

Using the Thunderbolt downlink with an adapter (not included) and two HDMI outputs, it is possible to connect up to three monitors, assuming your laptop supports that many.

One limitation of this unit is that there is only one Thunderbolt downlink, limiting its usefulness with Thunderbolt peripherals. Another is that the 40Gbps of available connectivity would be stretched thin if many ports were in simultaneous use.

If neither of those are show stoppers for you, this is a well-made dock at a low price range compared to what Thunderbolt docks cost.

Make sure you have Thunderbolt and not just USB-C ports before buying to avoid disappointment.

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $199/£159.02/€185.71
• When is it out? It is starting to be available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from Wavlink or via online resellers

Direct from Wavlink, the UTD45, or WAVLINK Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, as it is also known, costs $199 in dollars, £159.02 in UK pounds, and €185.71 for Europeans.

The standard online price is identical if you buy from Amazon.com, although there is a current promotion with another $20 coupon reducing that price.

The only Thunderbolt docks near that cost are the OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt Dock at $229.99 and the Kensington SD5760T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station for $206.12. However, the Wavlink undercut them both.

• Value: 4 / 5

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Specs

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Design

• Built to last
• Lots of ports
• Only one downlink

Picking up the UTD45, as I'll refer to it from this point onwards, the outside of this unit is made from cast aluminium and feels cool to the touch.

Unlike some plastic docks, this one is almost certainly made to handle the abuse of office use, and the metal construction helps keep everything inside cool.

Slot vents on the underside and side walls enable some air exchange, but we assume that all cooling is passive since it generates no fan noise in use.

A feature that seems missing from so many docks these days is a power button, but the UTD45 has one on the front face ready to power the dock when you've connected a system.

Along with the power button, the front has the Thunderbolt uplink that doubles as a charging source with 96W of power behind it. Two 10Gbps USB ports, one of each type, a TRRS 4-pole phone, and two SD card slots for SD and Micro SD are both included in the SD 4.0 spec.

It's a personal preference, but the Thunderbolt uplink might have been better on the back. One curiosity about that port is that Wavlink provides a screw-in retainer to make sure it isn't accidentally detached. Given that the friction fit of USB-C connectors is generally enough to keep connected, this seems a little superfluous.

The back has the remaining ports, including the dual HDMI 2.1, 2.5GbE LAN, three USB-A ports, and the single Thunderbolt 4 downlink.

The two weaknesses of this design are that it only has a single TB downlink, and some customers prefer DisplayPort connectivity. You can address the latter by using that single downlink with a Thunderbolt to DisplayPort adapter, but that will use the only Thunderbolt connectivity available.

Most laptops won't drive more than a couple of displays with any great fluidity, and most monitors have HDMI inputs, so this might not be a massive problem for some.

• Design: 4 / 5

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Features

• Bandwidth oversubscribed
• USB-A obsession
• Power management

With 40Gbps of Thunderbolt bandwidth and at least 75Gbps of potential demand in only the TB 4 downlink and USB ports, this one is bandwidth oversubscribed like most docks.

While Wavlink doesn't implicitly say, the suspicion is that this dock uses the same Intel JHL8440 silicon as most other TB docks.

The priority here is USB over Thunderbolt peripherals, with only one downlink for Thunderbolt and five USB ports. Of those USB ports, only one is Gen 1, and the rest are Gen 2, making it perfect for connecting external USD storage.

Perhaps more than one USB-C port might have been preferable since the only front-facing port of that type was intended for charging phones with a 30W budget to achieve that.

That power output also hints that this device is potentially oversubscribed on power in addition to being bandwidth optimistic.

The provided PSU is rated to 160W, but the TB uplink eats up to 96W of that total, another 15W on the downlink, and 30W on the USB-C port, potentially. When you add the other port power demands and the power overhead of the dock, these numbers won't add up to 160W.

The assumption is that should you have lots of USB devices pulling power, the total power output will be adjusted on the uplink port, as it has by far the largest slice of the budget.

Therefore, connecting all the thirteen ports on the UTD45 probably isn't advisable for at least a couple of good reasons.

That's not to say that other docks avoid these issues flawlessly, but it's worth noting that even if a dock has all these connection options, that doesn't implicitly encourage all of them to be put to use.

• Features: 4 / 5

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Performance

• Better than average performance
• Limitations with Apple hardware

Evaluating performance on a system with numerous ports and various connection methods, such as Thunderbolt, USB, SD cards, and LAN, can be ineffective without a specific use case to guide the assessment.

However, to check that the bandwidth of Thunderbolt was fully exposed, we connected a Thunderbolt SSD, the OWC Envoy Pro FX, to the downlink. We tested its performance when accessed via the dock using an Acer Travelmate P using CrystalDiskMark and AJA System Test.

Compared to other docks tested, the UTD45 is an excellent performer. It managed a read speed of 2855Mbps and write of 1532Mbps in CrystalDisk, when write caching was set to active in Windows for this drive.

Common to other docks, it is possible to get an 8K display from Windows but not Apple hardware.  ,

On Windows, you can connect up to three monitors at 4K/60Hz, or four monitors if one operates at 4K/30Hz. Both Windows and Mac systems support dual displays at 5K/60Hz. The maximum resolution available on PCs is 8K/60Hz (7680 x 4320), while the highest resolution for a single screen on Macs is 6K/60Hz (6144 x 3456).

There are also some arbitrary restrictions Apple placed on early M1 hardware that decree they only support two displays, so it might be worth checking with Wavlink before buying if you own that equipment.

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Verdict

For the modest cost, this is an excellent dock configured specifically for laptop owners with Thunderbolt ports primarily using USB peripherals. For those with Thunderbolt peripherals, it doesn't offer enough downlinks, and it can only connect a single monitor using Thunderbolt or a DisplayPort adapter on that port.

All dock makers try to create a unique balance between the different services offered to attract sales, and the UTD45 successfully covers the majority of people using a dock. It's not ideal for some, but for many, the feature set is fine.

And, critically, the price makes for an excellent value proposition.

Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Report card

Should you buy a Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

OWC Thunderbolt Dock
Another cheaper but still high-quality dock from OWC, this design has eleven ports and offers 90W charging for a Thunderbolt-connected laptop. What it lacks is a dedicated monitor port, but adapters for HDMI or Display port from Thunderbolt are available.

Check out our OWC Thunderbolt Dock review

CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4, or TS4 as it is also known, is a full-featured Thunderbolt dock that works with Thunderbolt 4/3 and USB-C.

It is not designed to be a portable dock but specifically to support a laptop user who comes to the office and wants a single cable connection to the network and a host of peripherals. To that objective, it has no less than 18 ports and can deliver up to 98W for charging a connected system. But, it is expensive.

Check out our CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 (TS4)  review